Mushoku Tensei: Sword, Magic Hats, and the Romance System [160]

“This is my family crest?”

Evening had fallen, and etiquette class was in its final stretch.

Inside the classroom, Eris’s loud exclamation rang out.

Her emotions were so intense, it felt like her astonishment was spilling through her voice to press against everyone present.

By the desk, the ceiling lamp’s candle flames burned bright. Edna was still full of vigor, a fixed smile welded to her face.

In this world, people’s average lifespan was short. For a commoner, even at the age of forty, half a year would be enough to etch visible marks of time onto their body.

But she, a noblewoman, had at least the guarantee of healthy meals and regular routines. With no heavy labor, time was often lenient toward wealth. Her body bore little trace of aging’s erosion.

—Her posture had not stooped, her bearing was still upright.

Only the wrinkles on her face seemed to have deepened a little.

Gathered around the corners of her mouth.

Probably the aftereffects of maintaining a smile too long.

Allen looked at Edna’s smiling face and thought just that.

In later generations, this would probably be called an occupational disease.

He lowered his head.

Within his line of sight, several heads were squeezed together, peering at a beautifully bound book on the desk.

Completely blocking his view.

Allen’s lips twitched helplessly.

Damn it, can’t see a damn thing.

The Boreas family crest?

Not in the original novel. Not in the anime either.

And in all his years in the royal capital, he still hadn’t seen it—In the king’s backyard, where nobles from across the kingdom, even foreign lands, gathered in a dense knot. In such a setting, the very first law of survival was to downplay the presence of one’s family origins. Who there wasn’t a highborn noble? And you want to flaunt?

Thus, with royal authority tabooed, the emphasis instead was on collective presence under the crown. That was the core of the capital’s power system.

Officials wore uniforms embroidered with the Asura Kingdom emblem almost every day. Private clothes were rare.

And although Allen had attended a noble school, the curriculum in the capital emphasized the history of the kingdom. Family histories? Go back to your own provincial noble schools for that.

So Allen had truly never seen it.

He was curious.

Hmm.

He drew in a deep breath. Under Edna’s smiling, narrowed eyes, he glanced again at the heads blocking his view.

No, come on! It’s normal for me to be curious.

But you two—what’s your excuse!!

For among the heads planted right in front of his face, besides Sylphy’s faintly fragrant white hair and Rudy’s short brown hair—

There was also Ghislaine’s big head with its twitching cat ears, and Eris’s little head with hair as red as spilled paint, both squeezed against the book.

Hard to hold back laughter.

“...Eh. Eris, Ghislaine, why are you two looking as well? Don’t tell me you’ve never seen the Boreas family crest?”

“Nope!”

“Never seen it.”

Allen pressed his face into his hands in despair.

A loyal guard who’s been here for years and never once seen the family crest?

A life adrift, never meeting a worthy lord—if you won’t abandon me, I’ll swear myself to you as a foster father?

Ghislaine, you really are loyal to the bone!

And you, Eris-chan—you’re Philip and Hilda’s only child, the heir apparent. And you’ve never seen the crest? Does that sound reasonable to anyone?!

This was comedy fit to bring the house down.

Don’t they teach this in etiquette class?

Rubbing his face, Allen pulled himself together and lifted his gaze to Edna.

She gave him a slight smile.

So dignified.

Then she deliberately looked away.

Allen: ?

Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he realized she wasn’t just avoiding his eyes—she was looking at the bookshelf to the side.

Allen followed her gaze.

A history book sat there, faintly dusted over.

And in an instant, he understood.

The Boreas family crest ought to be taught in history class.

Boreas, as one of the Four Great Nobles of Asura, belonged to palace history.

Not within her curriculum.

As for why Eris and Ghislaine hadn’t seen it, that was simple.

It was supposed to be a required subject in noble schools, a subtopic inevitably covered after finishing national history.

But too bad—Eris was the kind who punched her way through noble kindergarten. If she’d actually learned anything in school, her literacy wouldn’t be this abysmal. And as for her cousin Allen, yes, he’d been to noble school, learned his reading and writing—but he’d run off to the dojo before they’d finished the kingdom’s history course.

And ever since Eris got herself expelled from noble school, the job of teaching Boreas history had been left to Philip.

But the mayor of Roa was buried in government affairs, and with Eris and Ghislaine both basically illiterate—come on. To study history, you don’t need to write, but you have to be able to read, right?

Clearly, Eris’s literacy “skills” weren’t up to it.

So it had been shelved all this time.

And according to the original story, before Rudy arrived, neither Philip nor Sauros had the slightest intention of raising Eris into a well-read, polite young lady.

On the storyline without Rudy’s reincarnation, it was even more obvious: Eris was eventually sent into the Asura Knight Order, helping Ariel claim the throne, earning in the capital the “Red Lion” title and its “renowned prestige.”

Of course, that nickname had nothing to do with being well-read.

It came purely from Eris’s nature—if she could use her fists, she wouldn’t waste words.

Allen blinked at the thought.

Strange...

For the crest of a top noble family, shouldn’t it be carved on walls, embroidered on clothes, displayed proudly in every obvious spot of the estate? Shouldn’t that be a noble’s honor?

He lowered his gaze onto Eris’s and Ghislaine’s heads.

Without needing to check their clothes again, under the ever-sharpening Perception Flow, the memories of the past half year flipped past his eyes like a slideshow.

Eris. Ghislaine. Hilda. Philip. Sauros.

Even the servants.

On no one in the Boreas estate had he ever seen anything like a family crest.

And coincidentally...

The novel and the anime also had no mention of such things.

Not coincidence, then? Inevitability?

With that thought, Allen lifted his eyes to Edna and voiced the question in his heart.

“Madam Edna, a family crest is supposed to be the emblem of a noble house’s honor, right? Why is it that in the Boreas estate I haven’t seen—”

At that moment, Edna’s expression seemed to tighten with excitement. Suddenly, she spoke, interrupting Allen for once with rare recklessness, her tone solemn, her voice carrying a fervent edge that startled him into a shiver.

“All Four Great Nobles of Asura have their family crests, each one representing its own glory and bloodline!”

“The meanings differ, the designs vary—but they share one thing in common: nearly every noble crest is built around the image of some ferocious magical beast or savage animal. The meanings differ—valor, endurance, nobility, exaltation—all surface-level ‘honor.’”

“But—”

“Boreas is different.”

As Edna spoke, footsteps sounded from beyond the window.

Urgent. Bold. Step after step chasing forward.

Even though it was already night, they carried boundless vigor, as though untiring.

Allen didn’t even need to turn his head. He could tell at once: those were Sauros’s steps, returning to the estate. Though already aged, he often couldn’t rest easy leaving things to Philip. He would personally go out to handle Roa’s government affairs, often returning at this very hour.

A man of action.

And before his eyes, Edna’s smile had already vanished. She looked at Allen with grave seriousness.

“Other noble houses set their sights on the present and the past—but Boreas looks toward the future.”

“The Fittoa domain existing on this land is not what Boreas seeks.”

“That the Fittoa domain will forever exist on this land—”

“That is what Boreas seeks.”

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This is a fan translation of 无职转生：剑，魔法帽与恋爱系统 by 意外火灾 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!